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Any lappy's available with this configuration?

post #1 of 6
1/21/04 at 5:26am
Thread Starter 
Here's my wish list:

1.7 centrino (2.0 if is comes out soon)
128 ATI 9600 M10 pro turbo (or 9700 M11)
15" to 16" lcd, 4:3 format, 1600 x 1200 (or highest rez possible)
60 to 80 gig HD at 7200 rpm
512 RAM - (I will upgrade to at least 1024 via aftermarket)
4x dvd-rw/cd-rw
Budget: $1500 to $3000

O.k., I have been looking for a rig that has very good gaming ability with above average battery life that could also play at least a whole DVD on battery power. It seems a centrino M is the only option right now. So far the i8600 seems the best bet, but I really don't like widescreen much as it seems to distort most games and other applications (or so I hear), and I would prefer to stay with a regular 15" (or 16") 4:3 lcd. I would love to go with Sager, but they do not offer a centrino with a 128mb vid card and the 5680 is a battery hog (but nice a hog however). Is it true that 4:3 lcd's are always built to a lower resolution? I do a decent amount of gaming - (Morrowind, SOF2, URU and the like) and would want something that would play these easily and look good doing it. BTW, I am NOT brand sensitive at all. Well, any and all help or advice in finding a rig with similar specs would be greatly appreciated!
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post #2 of 6
1/21/04 at 6:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Teegunn
Here's my wish list:

1.7 centrino (2.0 if is comes out soon)
128 ATI 9600 M10 pro turbo (or 9700 M11)
15" to 16" lcd, 4:3 format, 1600 x 1200 (or highest rez possible)
60 to 80 gig HD at 7200 rpm
512 RAM - (I will upgrade to at least 1024 via aftermarket)
4x dvd-rw/cd-rw
Budget: $1500 to $3000

O.k., I have been looking for a rig that has very good gaming ability with above average battery life that could also play at least a whole DVD on battery power. It seems a centrino M is the only option right now. So far the i8600 seems the best bet, but I really don't like widescreen much as it seems to distort most games and other applications (or so I hear), and I would prefer to stay with a regular 15" (or 16") 4:3 lcd. I would love to go with Sager, but they do not offer a centrino with a 128mb vid card and the 5680 is a battery hog (but nice a hog however). Is it true that 4:3 lcd's are always built to a lower resolution? I do a decent amount of gaming - (Morrowind, SOF2, URU and the like) and would want something that would play these easily and look good doing it. BTW, I am NOT brand sensitive at all. Well, any and all help or advice in finding a rig with similar specs would be greatly appreciated!
Widescreen aspects don't really distort applications. Their main use (aside from the obvious DVD widescreen viewing) is the ability to view multiple windows side-by-side, i.e. Internet Explorer + Word. Most games also allow wide-screen resolutions or at least two black bars on the side if you want to play 4:3.

With that said, it's actually pretty hard to find what you want. Most notebooks that come in 15-16", 4:3 and UXGA (1600x1200) are desktop replacements, and so they don't use the P-M chip. Then, the 128 MB m10 is not on that many P-M systems, and when it is, it's actually pretty hot (like <ahem> Dell).

If you're willing to relax the resolution to SXGA+ (1400x1050) and the m10 to 64MB, then ibuypower.com is a good choice. If you can forgo the 4:3 resolution, I believe the Dell i8600 or the HP nx8000 are good too. Also check out eurocom (eurocom.com)'s future models - their M-375E looks like a better version of Dell's i8600 but once again is widescreen. Buying a notebook is always a series of compromises.

Can't think of any other reputable online sites off the top of my head...
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post #3 of 6
1/21/04 at 6:17am
The IBM R50p meets all of your requirements except one of the most important, the price. Hoestly, I think you will either have to pay more or wait a while to get what you want.
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post #4 of 6
1/21/04 at 10:01am
The best fit to your budget and requirements is probably the HP nc8000. High end options include the IBM R50p, the Voodoo PC m:460 and its manufacturer's equivalent, the ECS G556 (when available). Another near term option is the ASUS M6000N. For a budget alternative, take a look at the AOpen 1557 that is available from a number of vendors.

Before you buy a Dell 8600 with ATI 9600 graphics, I strongly recommend that you spend a good bit of time browsing the Dell Community Forum reading about what 8600 customers are experiencing. After I did so, I crossed the Dell 8600 off my list.

If you change your mind about wanting to avoid widescreen laptops, I strongly recommend the Gateway M505.
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post #5 of 6
1/21/04 at 10:44pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all the advice everyone! I will start researching the machines you suggested and decide what I want to do from there. I do find it surprising how many people on this site seem to "try out" there lappys with the 30 retrurn policy. That is probably what I should do. Does anyone know just what manufacturers have 30 day policies like this and how hard it is to actually get your money back? The last thing I would want is to be stuck with a $3000 dud!
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post #6 of 6
1/22/04 at 12:14am
Thread Starter 
Well, after doing some research on your suggestions - I may be even more confused than before. LOL, just kidding..... It is good to know there are more options available than what I thought. That HP nc8000 looks real nice. It only comes with a 60 gig 5400 drive however. With the specs I would want it comes in at $2974. I wonder if they have a discount for someone who currently owns 2 HP's (notebook and desktop)? Of course the voodoo looks real nice, but configured the way I would want it comes in at $3806! I am definitely rethinking the i8600. I was getting quite close to ordering one of those, but I think waiting a month or two would be worth it now. The "future" models coming out really look nice. I'm sure they will lighten the pocket book aplenty however. Well, guess I'll keep researching.
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